Calling it dangerous, state district attorneys Monday urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to dump a plan to save money by commuting sentences of illegal immigrants in state prisons so they can be deported.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos, newly elected vice president of the California District Attorneys Association, said the group also opposes reducing lesser felonies to misdemeanors to save money and ease the strain on state prison populations.

“We understand the state is in financial difficulty,” Ramos said, “but this is a short-term solution with greater costs and problems that are probably long term.” He called early release of illegal immigrants unfair to other inmates.

A spokesman for the governor, H.D. Palmer, deputy director of the state Department of Finance, said late Monday: “What we believe is unfair is the U.S. government has sole control of the borders, and they have failed to secure them. The state of California is saddled with the cost of the immigrants.”

He said the federal government is supposed to pay state costs to hold illegal immigrants, but the state gets only a dime for every dollar it spends for that purpose.

Palmer said the governor is willing to listen to any credible solutions to the $20billion-plus gap that must be closed to balance the budget.

“The window closes tonight at midnight,” Palmer said.

Ramos, in line to be president of the district attorney’s group in 2010-11, talked about problems of commuting sentences of illegal immigrants:

“Most of them are from Mexico. They’ll come back and continue to commit crimes against our citizens.

“What we (courts and prosecutors) do is a drop in the bucket compared to the total budget of California,” Ramos said. “I really believe a government’s core function is the safety of its citizens.”

Ramos said reducing so-called “wobbler” felonies to misdemeanors, would create many problems. He wants prisoners released early placed on summary parole, a move the governor could do administratively. It would allow parole officers to keep closer tabs on parolees because they could enter the parolees’ homes without a search warrant and force them to take drug tests.